U.N. General Assembly: Trump Leads Security Council Meeting

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Without offering proof, President Trump, as chairman of the United Nations Security Council meeting, assailed the Chinese for election meddling. He also took credit for stemming violence in Syria and said his ties with North Korea were strengthening.CreditCreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

By The New York Times

Sept. 26, 2018

A day after President Trump appeared before the United Nations and made clear his disdain for a global approach to problem solving, he returned on Wednesday to wield the gavel at a meeting of the Security Council, the world organization’s most powerful body.

As the council’s current president, a rotating position, Mr. Trump is leading the group’s meeting on nonproliferation. But in his opening remarks, he focused his attention instead on sanctions against Iran and accused China of trying to meddle in the midterm elections in the United States, apparently referring to China’s retaliatory tariffs in an escalating trade war with that country.

Mr. Trump also met with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, before the Security Council session and pledged his commitment to stand behind Israel “100 percent” while working toward a Middle East peace deal.

A day earlier, in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, some in the audience laughed as Mr. Trump said that more had been done so far during his time in office than in “almost any administration in the history of our country.”

Trump accuses China of election meddling

China’s foreign affairs minister, Wang Yi, right, at the Security Council briefing.CreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

During his opening remarks at the Security Council on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump accused China of trying to meddle in the United States’ midterm elections.

“Regrettably, we found that China is attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election, coming up in November, against my administration,” Mr. Trump said. “They do not want me, or us, to win, because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade. And we are winning on trade, we are winning at every level.”

Mr. Trump provided no evidence to back up this assertion, though it appears he was referring to China’s retaliatory tariffs in the escalating trade war.

Later in the day, during an evening news conference, he asserted that “we have evidence” of China’s interference.

“I like China and I like President Xi a lot,” Mr. Trump said, but later added, “They’re trying to convince people to go against Trump.”

Much of his speech at the Security Council was spent criticizing Iran, a theme that also dominated his address to the General Assembly a day earlier.

“The regime is the world’s leading sponsor of terror and fuels conflict across the region and beyond,” Mr. Trump said, before calling the Iran nuclear deal a “horrible, one-sided” agreement.

Before the 2015 nuclear accord, he said of Iran, “They were in big, big trouble.”

“They needed cash; we gave it to them,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the lifting of sanctions as a result of the deal.

He said he planned to introduce new economic sanctions on Iran later this year, adding that they would be “tougher than ever before.”

Yet Mr. Trump also had positive words for Iran, thanking that country and Russia for delaying a planned offensive on Syria’s Idlib Province.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, who spoke to the Security Council directly after Mr. Trump, urged unity within the group. He said that relations with Iran must not be limited to a “policy of sanctions,” and that long-term strategies must be put in place.

The 15-member Security Council is the most powerful arm of the United Nations, with the ability to impose sanctions and authorize military intervention. — MEGAN SPECIA and TESS FELDER

What do Trump’s comments about Chinese interference mean?

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Mr. Trump attending a United Nations Security Council briefing.CreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

Mr. Trump’s accusation that China is meddling in the midterm elections made it sound as if Beijing was using cyber and disinformation techniques, similar to what Russia did in the 2016 presidential election.

Instead, according to one administration official, Mr. Trump appeared to be referring to how China has targeted its retaliatory tariffs — aiming some of them at states and industries that Mr. Trump and the Republican Party need to hold on to in the coming elections.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Mr. Trump was angry about the tariffs and views them as a kind of political influence.

If so, China would not be the first country to use trade to achieve political ends in the United States. In the 1980s, Japan strategically placed auto plants and their suppliers in critical congressional districts, hoping to head off any action against its auto industry. American officials have previously used trade actions to affect politics in Japan and South Korea.

But this was the first time that Mr. Trump has directly accused China of interfering in American politics in an effort to challenge him. And it is at odds with his repeated comments that he has a strong relationship with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who presumably has had a strong hand in each of the retaliatory actions taken by Beijing.

A month ago, the director of national intelligence, Dan Coates, warned that the “system is blinking red” for the coming elections. But he was referring chiefly to fears of Russian activity, his aides said at the time, and he made almost no mention of China. —DAVID E. SANGER

Trump turns down meeting with Trudeau

During a news conference, President Trump confirmed that he rejected a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and slammed Canada for recent disagreements over trade.

“Frankly, we are thinking about just taxing cars that are coming in from Canada,” Mr. Trump said. “We are very unhappy with the negotiations — with the negotiating style — of Canada.”

He went on to criticize Canada’s negotiations over the Nafta trade deal — an agreement he called “very bad for the U.S.” — and the recent tariffs put in place on American-made products.

“Canada has treated us very badly, they have treated our farmers in Wisconsin and New York State very badly,” he said. “So Canada has a long way to go, I must be honest with you, we are not getting along with their negotiators at all.”

While he did not rule out the prospect of a new trade deal with Canada, he said it would probably be very different from what the Canadians are seeking. — MEGAN SPECIA

Malaysian leader says Trump ‘doesn’t know much about Asia’

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Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia in his office in June.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times

As the world’s oldest leader at age 93, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia has seen a lot of politicians come and go — including himself: He previously served as prime minister from 1982 to 2003, and returned to power in May.

While visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly this week, he offered some cautionary advice for President Trump: Don’t push too hard, he said of Mr. Trump’s comments regarding the Chinese government.

“I get the impression he doesn’t know much about Asia,” the Malaysian leader said at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Asked whether he thought a rapidly modernizing China was engaged in a new colonialism among its Asian neighbors, Mr. Mahathir answered indirectly, “When China is poor, it is dangerous,” he said. “When China is rich, it also is dangerous.”

While Mr. Trump has sought to cast China as a villain in his campaign to “make America great again,” Mr. Mahathir suggested that more subtlety was required.

“We have been dealing with China for 2,000 years,” he said. “I think you can make America great in many other ways.” — RICK GLADSTONE

‘We are with Israel 100 percent,’ Trump says

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Mr. Trump met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at United Nations headquarters on Wednesday.CreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

“I like two-state solution,” he said, according to a White House pool report.

“I really believe something will happen,” Mr. Trump said. “It is a dream of mine to be able to get that done prior to the end of my first term.”

On the way into the Security Council meeting, Mr. Trump was asked whether he was willing to meet with President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. Mr. Trump said he was not opposed to the idea.

“I’m willing to meet with anybody, anytime I can save lives and help people,” he said. “If it’s one life, I am certainly willing to.” — MEGAN SPECIA

Bolivian President criticizes U.S. human rights record

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Mr. Trump listening as President Evo Morales of Bolivia, right, speaks at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.CreditEduardo Munoz/Reuters

Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, took aim squarely at the United States in a statement delivered at the Security Council on Wednesday.

Sitting just two seats from Mr. Trump, Mr. Morales said he “categorically condemns” the United States for reneging on its obligations under the Iran nuclear deal under “false pretenses.” Then he slammed the United States’ human rights record.

“In no way is the U.S. interested in spreading democracy,” Mr. Morales said. “The United States could not care less about human rights or justice.”

He went on to list his criticism of the United States: for “keeping children in cages,” a reference to the detention and separation of migrant children from their families at the United States-Mexico border; for Mr. Trump’s statements that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction or legitimacy; and for critical statements Mr. Trump has made about the Human Rights Council.

The leftist Bolivian leader has been a vocal critic of United States foreign policy since he took office in 2006. Bolivia joined the Security Council for a two-year term in 2017 as one of the 10 rotating United Nations member states on the council.

Mr. Trump offered a gruff, “Thank you, Mr. President,” to Mr. Morales before handing the floor over to the next speaker. — MEGAN SPECIA

Isolated? Hardly, Iran’s president says

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President Hassan Rouhani of Iran at the United Nations on Tuesday.CreditChang W. Lee/The New York Times

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, apparently emboldened by the less-than-enthusiastic United Nations reception for President Trump this week, said the United States had isolated itself at the world organization by renouncing the Iran nuclear agreement and by warning others they should heed restored American sanctions or face reprisals.

At a news conference near the end of his annual visit to the General Assembly, Mr. Rouhani thanked the many other member states, including close American allies, that have expressed support for the nuclear accord, which the United States quit in May on Mr. Trump’s orders.

Mr. Trump, the Iranian president said, ordered other countries not only to ignore the nuclear accord but also to essentially disregard Security Council Resolution 2231, which put it into effect. Security Council resolutions are supposed to be regarded as having the force of law.

“It is quite strange, asking other members not to adhere to 2231,” Mr. Rouhani told reporters. Asked if Iran felt isolated and surrounded by hostile powers in the Middle East, Mr. Rouhani responded: “We’re not isolated. America is isolated.”

While he acknowledged that restored American sanctions had put pressure on his country, Mr. Rouhani said, “Iran has been in much tougher positions.”

He thanked European countries that have pushed for the survival of the nuclear agreement, even without the Americans. But he would not rule out the possibility that Iran itself might also quit the accord if it does not get the promised economic benefits.

The Trump administration had long hinted it would quit the accord, in which Iran made verifiable guarantees of peaceful nuclear work in exchange for relaxed economic sanctions. Mr. Trump called the agreement a disastrous giveaway to Iran that merely postponed its ability to become a nuclear-armed state. — RICK GLADSTONE

Theresa May defends cooperation, and Brexit

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Prime Minister Theresa May speaking at the United Nations on Wednesday.CreditDave Sanders for The New York Times

Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain used her speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday to reaffirm her country’s “commitment to work together to address shared global challenges,” even as she defended its decision to quit the European Union.

“The vote by the British people to leave the European Union was not a rejection of multilateralism or international cooperation,” Mrs. May said of the process known as Brexit. “It was a clear demand for decisions and accountability to lie closer to home.”

At the same time, she said, countries should not be afraid to stand up and intervene when other nations flagrantly violate norms and rights. She cited Britain’s decision to participate in airstrikes with the United States and France against Syria in response to suspected chemical attacks.

Mrs. May acknowledged what she described as “mistakes of the past,” a reference to Britain’s much-criticized role in the Iraq war, but said those mistakes should not justify a failure to act when needed.

The prime minister also warned of the rise of extremist political ideologies on the right and left in Europe and beyond.

“We have seen what happens when countries slide into authoritarianism, slowly crushing the basic freedoms and rights of their citizens,” she said. “We have seen what happens when corrupt oligarchies rob their nations of the wealth, resources and human capital that are so vital to unlocking a brighter future for their citizens.”

And she gave a shout-out to the news media.

“Like many leaders, I suspect, I do not always enjoy reading what the media in my country writes about me,” Mrs. May said. “But I will defend their right to say it, for the independence of our media is one of my country’s greatest achievements, and it is the bedrock of our democracy.” — MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ